§76ἐννέα θυγατέρες μεγάλου Διὸς ἐκγεγαυῖαι, §77Κλειώ τʼ Εὐτέρπη τε Θάλειά τε Μελπομέενη τε §78Τερψιχόρη τʼ Ἐρατώ τε Πολύμνιά τʼ Οὐρανίη τε §79Καλλιόπη θʼ· ἣ δὲ προφερεστάτη ἐστὶν ἁπασέων.
Nine daughters born of great Zeus, Clio and Euterpe and Thalia and Melpomene, Terpsichore and Erato and Polyhymnia and Ourania, and Calliope; and she is the most excellent of them all.
§80ἣ γὰρ καὶ βασιλεῦσιν ἅμʼ αἰδοίοισιν ὀπηδεῖ.
For she also attends upon revered kings.
§81ὅν τινα τιμήσωσι Διὸς κοῦραι μεγάλοιο §82γεινόμενόν τε ἴδωσι διοτρεφέων βασιλήων, §83τῷ μὲν ἐπὶ γλώσσῃ γλυκερὴν χείουσιν ἐέρσην, §84τοῦ δʼ ἔπεʼ ἐκ στόματος ῥεῖ μείλιχα· οἱ δέ τε λαοὶ §85πάντες ἐς αὐτὸν ὁρῶσι διακρίνοντα θέμιστας §86ἰθείῃσι δίκῃσιν· ὃ δʼ ἀσφαλέως ἀγορεύων §87αἶψά κε καὶ μέγα νεῖκος ἐπισταμένως κατέπαυσεν·
Whomever the daughters of great Zeus honor, and look upon at his birth among Zeus-nourished kings, upon his tongue they pour sweet dew, and his words flow honeyed from his mouth; and the people, all look toward him as he discerns the laws with straight judgments; and he, speaking with assurance, would quickly and skillfully put an end even to a great strife.
§88τοὔνεκα γὰρ βασιλῆες ἐχέφρονες, οὕνεκα λαοῖς §89βλαπτομένοις ἀγορῆφι μετάτροπα ἔργα τελεῦσι §90ῥηιδίως, μαλακοῖσι παραιφάμενοι ἐπέεσσιν.
For this is why kings are wise: because when the people are being harmed in the assembly, they turn things around easily, persuading them with gentle words.
§91ἐρχόμενον δʼ ἀνʼ ἀγῶνα θεὸν ὣς ἱλάσκονται §92αἰδοῖ μειλιχίῃ, μετὰ δὲ πρέπει ἀγρομένοισιν· §93τοίη Μουσάων ἱερὴ δόσις ἀνθρώποισιν.
And as he goes through the assembly, they propitiate him like a god with gentle reverence, and he stands out among the gathered; such is the holy gift of the Muses to men.
§94ἐκ γάρ τοι Μουσέων καὶ ἑκηβόλου Ἀπόλλωνος §95ἄνδρες ἀοιδοὶ ἔασιν ἐπὶ χθόνα καὶ κιθαρισταί, §96ἐκ δὲ Διὸς βασιλῆες· ὃ δʼ ὄλβιος, ὅν τινα Μοῦσαι §97φίλωνται· γλυκερή οἱ ἀπὸ στόματος ῥέει αὐδή.
For indeed from the Muses and far-shooting Apollo singers and lyre-players exist upon the earth, but from Zeus come kings; and blessed is he whomever the Muses love; sweet voice flows from his mouth.
§98εἰ γάρ τις καὶ πένθος ἔχων νεοκηδέι θυμῷ §99ἄζηται κραδίην ἀκαχήμενος, αὐτὰρ ἀοιδὸς §100Μουσάων θεράπων κλέεα προτέρων ἀνθρώπων §101ὑμνήσῃ μάκαράς τε θεούς, οἳ Ὄλυμπον ἔχουσιν, §102αἶψʼ ὅ γε δυσφροσυνέων ἐπιλήθεται οὐδέ τι κηδέων §103μέμνηται· ταχέως δὲ παρέτραπε δῶρα θεάων.
For even if someone with sorrow in his newly-grieved spirit pines in his grieving heart, yet when a singer, a servant of the Muses, hymns the glorious deeds of earlier men and the blessed gods who hold Olympus, immediately he forgets his dark thoughts and of his cares remembers nothing; and quickly the gifts of the goddesses turn them away.
§104χαίρετε, τέκνα Διός, δότε δʼ ἱμερόεσσαν ἀοιδήν.
Hail, children of Zeus, and grant lovely song.
§105κλείετε δʼ ἀθανάτων ἱερὸν γένος αἰὲν ἐόντων, §106οἳ Γῆς τʼ ἐξεγένοντο καὶ Οὐρανοῦ ἀστερόεντος, §107Νυκτός τε δνοφερῆς, οὕς θʼ ἁλμυρὸς ἔτρεφε Πόντος.
And celebrate the sacred race of the immortals who exist forever, who were born of Earth and starry Heaven, and of dark Night, and whom the salty Sea nourished.
§108εἴπατε δʼ, ὡς τὰ πρῶτα θεοὶ καὶ γαῖα γένοντο §109καὶ ποταμοὶ καὶ πόντος ἀπείριτος, οἴδματι θυίων, §110ἄστρα τε λαμπετόωντα καὶ οὐρανὸς εὐρὺς ὕπερθεν
And tell how at the first the gods and earth came to be, and rivers and the boundless sea, raging with its swell, and the shining stars and wide heaven above.
And how they divided their wealth and how they distributed their honors, and how at the first they came to hold many-ridged Olympus.
§114ταῦτά μοι ἔσπετε Μοῦσαι, Ὀλύμπια δώματʼ ἔχουσαι §115ἐξ ἀρχῆς, καὶ εἴπαθʼ, ὅ τι πρῶτον γένετʼ αὐτῶν.
These things tell me, Muses, who hold Olympian dwellings, from the beginning, and tell which of them came to be first.
§116ἦ τοι μὲν πρώτιστα Χάος γένετʼ, αὐτὰρ ἔπειτα §117Γαῖʼ εὐρύστερνος, πάντων ἕδος ἀσφαλὲς αἰεὶ §119Τάρταρά τʼ ἠερόεντα μυχῷ χθονὸς εὐρυοδείης, §120ἠδʼ Ἔρος, ὃς κάλλιστος ἐν ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσι, §121λυσιμελής, πάντων δὲ θεῶν πάντων τʼ ἀνθρώπων §122δάμναται ἐν στήθεσσι νόον καὶ ἐπίφρονα βουλήν.
Verily at the very first Chaos came to be, but next wide-bosomed Earth, the ever-sure foundation of all, and misty Tartarus in the depth of the wide-wayed earth, and Eros, who is the most beautiful among the immortal gods, who loosens the limbs, and of all gods and of all men subdues the mind and prudent counsel in their breasts.
§123ἐκ Χάεος δʼ Ἔρεβός τε μέλαινά τε Νὺξ ἐγένοντο· §124Νυκτὸς δʼ αὖτʼ Αἰθήρ τε καὶ Ἡμέρη ἐξεγένοντο, §125οὓς τέκε κυσαμένη Ἐρέβει φιλότητι μιγεῖσα.
From Chaos came Erebus and black Night; and from Night in turn Aether and Day came to be, whom she conceived and bore having mingled in love with Erebus.
§126Γαῖα δέ τοι πρῶτον μὲν ἐγείνατο ἶσον ἑαυτῇ §127Οὐρανὸν ἀστερόενθʼ, ἵνα μιν περὶ πάντα καλύπτοι, §128ὄφρʼ εἴη μακάρεσσι θεοῖς ἕδος ἀσφαλὲς αἰεί.
And Earth first bore starry Heaven, equal to herself, so that he might cover her all over, so that he might be an ever-sure foundation for the blessed gods.
And she bore long Hills, the graceful haunts of the goddesses, the Nymphs who dwell in the wooded hills.
§131ἣ δὲ καὶ ἀτρύγετον πέλαγος τέκεν, οἴδματι θυῖον, §132Πόντον, ἄτερ φιλότητος ἐφιμέρου· αὐτὰρ ἔπειτα §133Οὐρανῷ εὐνηθεῖσα τέκʼ Ὠκεανὸν βαθυδίνην, §134Κοῖόν τε Κρῖόν θʼ Ὑπερίονά τʼ Ἰαπετόν τε §135Θείαν τε Ῥείαν τε Θέμιν τε Μνημοσύνην τε §136Φοίβην τε χρυσοστέφανον Τηθύν τʼ ἐρατεινήν.
And she also bore the fruitless deep, raging with its swell, the Sea, without desirable love; but next having lain with Heaven, she bore deep-swirling Oceanus, and Coeus and Crius and Hyperion and Iapetus, and Theia and Rhea and Themis and Mnemosyne, and golden-crowned Phoebe and lovely Tethys.
§137τοὺς δὲ μέθʼ ὁπλότατος γένετο Κρόνος ἀγκυλομήτης, §138δεινότατος παίδων· θαλερὸν δʼ ἤχθηρε τοκῆα.
And after them was born Cronos of crooked counsel, the youngest, the most terrible of her children; and he hated his lusty father.
§139γείνατο δʼ αὖ Κύκλωπας ὑπέρβιον ἦτορ ἔχοντας, §140Βρόντην τε Στερόπην τε καὶ Ἄργην ὀβριμόθυμον, §141οἳ Ζηνὶ βροντήν τε δόσαν τεῦξάν τε κεραυνόν.
And in turn she bore the Cyclopes who had an overbearing heart, Brontes and Steropes and stout-hearted Arges, who gave thunder to Zeus and fashioned the lightning-bolt.
These indeed in other respects were like the gods, but a single eye was set in the middle of their forehead.
And they were named Cyclopes by name because indeed of them a single circular eye was set in their forehead.
§146ἰσχὺς δʼ ἠδὲ βίη καὶ μηχαναὶ ἦσαν ἐπʼ ἔργοις.
And strength and might and skills were in their works.
§147ἄλλοι δʼ αὖ Γαίης τε καὶ Οὐρανοῦ ἐξεγένοντο
And in turn others were born of Earth and Heaven...